Victor von Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen

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Victor Ritter von Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen (1905)

Victor Reichsritter Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen (born December 28, 1847 at Gut Smíchov near Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia , † March 5, 1924 at Tännenhof near Hallein , Land Salzburg) was an Austrian ornithologist and editor of the ornithological yearbook .

Live and act

Victor Tschusi came from a Tyrolean noble family. His grandfather Karl Johann von Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen was mayor of Innsbruck from 1814 to 1815. Victor Tschusi's father Alois was a first lieutenant in the imperial and royal army . After serving in the army, he ran the Smichow estate near Prague, which was widely known as a model estate for chemical agriculture . Both parents, but especially his mother Josephine, were very interested in science. Her friends included Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and the circumnavigator Heinrich von Kittlitz (1799-1874). She conveyed to the young Victor the love for nature and especially for avifauna . Victor von Tschusi spent his childhood on his father's estate. He received part of his high school education at the Jesuit College Kalksburg near Vienna. When the family moved to Krems an der Donau , he continued to be tutored there by a private tutor. On January 21, 1864 his father died in Krems at the age of 52.

After completing high school, he moved to Vienna, where he pursued his scientific studies. He became engaged to Natalie Kuhn von Kuhnenfeld, who was born in Verona on April 24, 1848 . She was the reason why he looked around for a new home and bought the Tännenhof near Hallein. On April 24, 1871, he married his fiancée in Preßburg and moved into the newly acquired farm. On their honeymoon, the newlyweds almost died when gas leaked in their hotel room and both passed out. The couple had two sons, Friedrich and Rudolf. Rudolf, who died before his father, had to leave his home because of irregularities and lived from 1902 to 1919 as an ornithologist in Tenerife under the name Rudolf von Thanner , where he became an expert on Canarian avifauna and regularly sent his father bird hides from the Canary Islands . Rudolf also published himself, u. a. Ornithological stuff from Vorarlberg . Son Friedrich came to the Salzburg state sanatorium and nursing home in 1926 with the diagnosis of paraphrenia and was murdered by the Nazi regime in the Hartheim killing center in 1941 .

Victor's cousin Alois Ritter von Tschusi Schmidhoffen from Glurns in Tirol (today: South Tyrol) also supported Victor's passion and provided him with bellows.

Tschusi was a passionate patriot, but as an Austrian he was connected to Germany after the First World War (like almost all Salzburg residents). When on April 24, 1921 a referendum on the connection to Germany took place in the Salzburg region, he voted for the connection despite his old age (together with 98% of the Salzburg electorate).

Scientific work

In Krems with his parents, he laid the foundations for his scientific work at an early age. He studied the local fauna on numerous excursions. After graduating from high school, he moved to Vienna. Here he learned from a taxidermist of the Imperial Natural History Museum yard the craft of taxidermy of birds, an art in which he finally was considered a master. When he became a member of the Imperial-Royal Zoological-Botanical Society in 1865 , he met Georg Ritter von Frauenfeld (1807–1873), who influenced Tschusi's later research with his suggestions. It became clear early on that his studies were ahead of the standard of scientific research of the time. While still in Vienna, he continued his education by studying ornithological literature and looking through the museum's large bird collection. He soon realized that a scientist should also have his own collection. After initially making dermoplastics, he soon switched to only preparing bellows. He finally bequeathed his collection of 554 stuffed birds to the museum. In 1868 he joined the German Ornithological Society , of which he was a member until his death. In the years 1866 to 1870 he made numerous ornithological trips. His first trip took him through large parts of the Austrian monarchy. He explored the Giant Mountains , the Bohemian Forest , Styria , Carinthia , Carniola , the Province of Trieste , Croatia , Tyrol , Salzburg and Upper Austria . He also visited Northern Italy and Germany. On his travels he met many important ornithologists and looked at the larger bird collections. He even visited Heinrich Gätke (1814–1897) on Heligoland .

At the Tännenhof he received many well-known ornithologists who insisted on visiting him as soon as they were in the area. His guests included u. a .:

and many more.

After settling at the Tännenhof, he decided to commit to a research area and focused on the Palearctic avifauna. He began to collect large series of the same bird species from all areas of distribution. He soon noticed that subspecies with different colors also visited different breeding areas. In addition to color, he also identified size, beak shape and other biological characteristics in the geographical varieties. He did not attribute the many new forms of this time to the better observation skills of the ornithologists of the time, but to the way in which they were collected at that time. With Motacilla cinerea Schmitzi he described his first new subspecies in 1900, which he dedicated to Father Ernst Schmitz (1845-1922), a scientific pioneer in Madeira . Another important publication on the subject of geographic varieties was The Types of My Collection in 1906 . By 1914 Tschusi had described 54 geographical forms, most of which he published in the Ornithological Yearbook , the Ornithological Monthly Reports and the Ornithological Monthly . He described some new forms in cooperation with Nikolai Alexejewitsch Sarudny (1859-1919), Carl Eduard Hellmayr (1878-1944), Harald von Loudon (1876-1959), Otmar Reiser, Otto Kleinschmidt, Johann Polatzek (1838-1927) and Robert von Dombrowski (1869–1932).

In addition to his work on systematics , Tschusi advocated sensible bird protection. In 1872, for example, he published a brochure entitled “Protect and nurture the birds”. A reminder to all farmers and foresters, hunters and friends of birds , of which he made 500 free of charge available to the educational institutions. In recognition of his commitment, the Ministry sent him to the International Bird Conservation Congress in Paris in 1895 as a scientific adviser to the Austro-Hungarian government delegation . In 1899 the Ministry of Agriculture commissioned him to give an expert opinion on various aspects of bird protection.

Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary (1858–1889), also an enthusiastic ornithologist, called him to Vienna in 1882. He entrusted him with the task of building bird stations in the area of ​​the monarchy and taking over their management. Tschusi pursued this activity with vigor and took over the editing of the annual reports. He was in constant correspondence with the Crown Prince. After the project lost its patron due to Rudolf's suicide, the activities were restricted and finally stopped completely.

In 1889 Tschusi founded the specialist journal Ornithological Yearbook , which was committed to the care of the ornis of the Palearctic fauna area. From Tschusi's point of view, this was necessary because the ornithological association had lost its importance after the death of the Crown Prince. The magazine was sponsored by Homeyer and Reiser . In 1919 Tschusi had to stop the paper for financial reasons. He had the hope that Guido Schiebel (1881–1956), whom he built up as his successor, could revive the paper, but this wish was not fulfilled.

Tschusi had already published his first scientific paper at the age of 18. A large number of publications followed in all important scientific and ornithological journals, hunting magazines and daily newspapers. In the end there were more than 700 publications that came from Tschusi's pen.

His collecting activity can be divided into five phases. As mentioned, the first 554 birds on display went to the Natural History Museum Vienna. His second collection of 5,756 bellows also went to the museum in 1906, even though many collectors abroad offered large sums for the collection. The third collection, consisting of 1,600 bellows, went to the Munich ornithologist Alfred Louis Laubmann (1886–1965) and ended up in the Munich State Zoological Collection . He bequeathed the fourth collection of 1578 bellows to the Salzburg zoologist Eduard Paul Tratz and supported his institute for ornithology with a newspaper announcement. The fifth collection, consisting of 500 bellows, was again incorporated into the Vienna Museum.

Tschusi had many friends, for whom he was always ready to listen. He took time for young professionals and passed on his knowledge to them. He often communicated with pastor Andreas Johannes Jäckel (1822–1885) and his family or with Erwin Gebhardt (1887–1914) from Nuremberg . As an honorary member of the Ornithological Society in Bavaria , he was in constant contact with its members.

At his golden wedding anniversary in April 1921, the philosophy faculty of the University of Innsbruck awarded him the Doctor honoris causa . He also became an honorary citizen of the city of Hallein, Tschusistraße in Hallein is named after him.The honorary pension , which the state of Austria gave him for the festival, turned out to be a farce, as it was practically worthless due to the prevailing hyperinflation , and was withdrawn in January 1924 . During this time he benefited from his worldwide network, as American ornithologists supported him by sending so-called love packages.

Dedication names

Otmar Reiser and György Ede Almásy Graf von Zsadány and Törökszentmiklós (1867-1933) dedicated Tschusi 1898 subspecies of Reed Bunting ( Emberiza schoeniclus tschusii ), Carlo Ettore Arrigoni degli Oddi (1867-1942) 1932 subspecies of Stieglitz ( Carduelis carduelis tschusii ) and Otto Kleinschmidt 1907 a subspecies of the reversible neck ( Jynx torquilla tschusii ) Together with Carl Hilgert , the latter described in the same journal another subspecies of the dipper called Cinclus aquaticus tschusii , which is today a synonym for Cinclus cinclus aquaticus ( Bechstein , 1797). Kleinschmidt described another subspecies Falco Hierofalco tschusii that as a synonym of Lanner Falcon subtype Falco biarmicus tanypterus Schlegel , holds 1,843th

First descriptions by Victor Ritter von Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen

Von Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen has described numerous subspecies that were new to science. Collaborated with other authors on some articles. The subspecies include chronological and a .:

  • Motacilla cinerea Schmitzi from Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen , 1900 - subspecies of the gray wagtail
  • Poecile palustris italicus by Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen & Hellmayr , 1900 - subspecies of the swamp tit
  • Carduelis carduelis parva from Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen , 1901 - subspecies of the goldfinch
  • Coracias garrulus semenowi Loudon & of Tschusi to Schmid Hope , 1902 - subspecies of the European Roller
  • Passer hispaniolensis transcaspicus from Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen , 1902 - subspecies of the willow sparrow
  • Linaria cannabina nana from Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen , 1901 - subspecies of the blood-horse fly
  • Linaria cannabina mediterranea ( from Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen , 1903) - subspecies of the colin
  • Tachymarptis melba tuneti ( from Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen , 1904) - subspecies of the Alpine swift
  • Columba palumbus maderensis from Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen , 1904 - subspecies of the wood pigeon
  • Otus scops cycladum ( from Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen , 1904) - subspecies of the scops owl
  • Sitta europaea rubiginosa by Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen & Sarudny , 1905 - subspecies of the Kleiber
  • Sylvia cantillans inornata from Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen , 1906 - subspecies of the white-bearded warbler
  • Apus pallidus illyricus by Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen , 1907 - subspecies of the pale swift
  • Chloris chloris madaraszi ( from Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen , 1911) - subspecies of the greenfinch
  • Loxia curvirostra corsicana by Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen , 1912 - subspecies of the crossbill

Occasionally one also finds the subspecies of the Spectacled Warbler ( Curruca conspicillata bella ) of Tschusi to Schmid's hope , in 1901, a synonym for Curruca conspicillata orbital ( Wahlberg , 1854), the blackcap ( Sylvia atricapilla obscura ) of Tschusi to Schmid's hope , in 1901, a synonym for Sylvia atricapilla Heineken ( Jardine , 1830), the Feldlerche ( Alauda arvensis scotica ) of Tschusi to Schmid Hope 1903, a synonym for Alauda arvensis arvensis Linnaeus , 1758, the Bunting ( Emberiza Calandra thanneri ) of Tschusi to Schmid Hope 1903, a synonym for Emberiza calandra calandra Linnaeus , 1758 and the bearded tit ( Panurus biarmicus occidentalis ) by Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen , 1904 a synonym for Panurus biarmicus biarmicus ( Linnaeus , 1758) in the literature.

Fonts (selection)

  • The bearded vulture or lammergeyer (Gyaetus barbatus, Storr.). (Its occurrence in Austria then and now) . In: Illustrated hunting newspaper . tape 1 , 1873, p. 111-112 .
  • Hikes in the Bohemian Forest . In: Journal for Ornithology (=  3 ). tape 19 , no. 2 , 1871, p. 110–116 ( online [accessed April 26, 2015]).
  • Ornithological reports from Austria (1870) . In: Journal for Ornithology (=  3 ). tape 19 , no. 2 , 1871, p. 116–119 ( online [accessed April 26, 2015]).
  • Pastor Bl. Hanf's ornithological collection in Mariahof . In: Journal for Ornithology (=  3 ). tape 19 , no. 2 , 1871, p. 119–121 ( online [accessed April 26, 2015]).
  • Ornithological reports from Austria and Hungary. (1877) . In: Journal for Ornithology (=  4 ). tape 26 , no. 1 , 1878, p. 94-98 ( online [accessed April 26, 2015]).
  • Obituary by Andreas Johannes Jäckel with a list of his writings in the appendix . In: Reports of the Natural Science Association Passau . tape 13 , 1888, p. 55–66 ( online (PDF; 567 kB) [accessed on October 3, 2015]).
  • Ornithological things from the past and this year . In: Communications from the Ornithological Association in Vienna . tape 13 , 1889, p. 290–293 ( online (PDF; 424 kB) [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • in Carl Eduard Hellmayr: Some remarks about the gray tits . In: Ornithological Yearbook . tape 11 , no. 5/6 , 1900, p. 201–217 ( online [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • Notes on some of Madeira's birds . In: Ornithological Yearbook . tape 11 , no. 5/6 , 1900, p. 221–225 ( online [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • New forms of Madeira . In: Ornithological monthly reports . tape 9 , no. 9 , 1901, pp. 129-131 ( online [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • Passer hispaniolensis transcaspicus subsp. nov. In: Ornithological monthly reports . tape 10 , no. 6 , 1902, pp. 96 ( online [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • with Harald von Loudon: Coracias garrulus semenowi Loudon & Tschusi nov. Subsp. In: Ornithological Yearbook . tape 13 , no. 3/4 , 1902, p. 148–150 ( online (PDF; 804.8 kB) [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • About palaearctic forms. (III.) . In: Ornithological Yearbook . tape 14 , no. 1/2 , 1903, p. 1-21 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • About palaearctic forms. (IV.) . In: Ornithological Yearbook . tape 14 , no. 3/4 , 1903, p. 137–140 ( online (PDF; 1.0 MB) [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • About palaearctic forms. (V.) . In: Ornithological Yearbook . tape 14 , no. 5/6 , 1903, pp. 161–170 ( online (PDF; 2.3 MB) [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • About palaearctic forms. (VI.) . In: Ornithological Yearbook . tape 15 , no. 3 , 1904, pp. 93–108 ( online (PDF; 3.6 MB) [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • About palaearctic forms. (VII.) . In: Ornithological Yearbook . tape 15 , no. 4 , 1904, pp. 121–124 ( online (PDF; 1 MB) [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • About palaearctic forms. (VIII.) . In: Ornithological Yearbook . tape 15 , no. 5/6 , 1904, pp. 227–230 ( online (PDF; 1.1 MB) [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • About palaearctic forms. (IX.) . In: Ornithological Yearbook . tape 16 , no. 3/4 , 1905, p. 127–141 ( online (PDF; 3.5 MB) [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • About palaearctic forms. (XII.) . In: Ornithological Yearbook . tape 17 , no. 3/4 , 1906, p. 141–142 ( online (PDF; 940.9 kB) [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • The types in my collection. Original descriptions of the types now in the Imperial and Royal Court Museum in Vienna . In: Annals of the Natural History Museum in Vienna . tape 21 , no. 3/4 , 1906, p. 179–194 ( online [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • About palaearctic forms. (XIII.) . In: Ornithological Yearbook . tape 18 , no. 4 , 1907, pp. 27–30 ( online (PDF; 1.8 MB) [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • About palaearctic forms. (XV.) . In: Ornithological Yearbook . tape 22 , no. 1 , 1911, p. 143-146 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • Overview of the birds of Upper Austria and Salzburg . In: Yearbook of the Upper Austrian Museum Association . tape 74 . Linz 1916, p. 3–41 ( online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at [accessed on May 7, 2018]).
  • A memorial sheet to the last Tyrolean Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus L.) . In: The Ornithological Observer . tape 18 , no. 12 , 1921, pp. 177–188 ( online [accessed June 4, 2015]).

literature

  • Josef Gengler: Viktor von Tschusi in memory . In: Journal of Ornithology . tape 72 , no. 3 , 1924, ISSN  0021-8375 , p. 450-460 , doi : 10.1007 / BF01905395 .
  • Ludwig Lorenz-Liburnau: Viktor von Tschusi † . In: Negotiations of the Zoological-Botanical Society in Vienna. tape 74/75 , 1925, pp. 32–35 ( PDF (290 kB) on ZOBODAT [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • Gerth von Rokitansky: Lecture in memory of Tschusi von Gerth von Rokitansky (1906–1887) . In: Ornithological reports and information Salzburg . tape 110 , 1925, pp. 9–13 ( PDF (8.5 MB) on ZOBODAT [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • Otto Kleinschmidt: New Palearctic Forms . In: Falco: magazine that appears irregularly following the work “Berajah, Zoographia infinita” . tape 3 , 1907, pp. 103 ( online [accessed June 4, 2015]).
  • Otto Kleinschmidt, Carl Hilgert: Cinclus aquaticus tschusii . In: Falco: magazine that appears irregularly following the work “Berajah, Zoographia infinita” . tape 3 , 1907, pp. 104 ( online ).
  • Otmar Reiser, György Almásy: Emberiza schoeniclus tschusii n. Subsp. In: Aquila. A magyar madártan központi folyóirata . tape 5 , 1898, p. 122–125 ( online [accessed February 3, 2017]).
  • Carlo Ettore Arrigoni degli Oddi: Note sopra alcune nuove sottospecie osservate negli Uccelli di Sardegna . In: Avicula: giornale ornitologico italiano . tape 6 , 1902, pp. 102-105 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Granichstaedten: The Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen . In: Allgemeine Tiroler Anzeiger April 18, 1931, p. 5 ( http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=tan&date=19310418&seite=5&zoom=33 [accessed on March 9, 2018]) .
  2. ↑ a b Josef Gengler, p. 450.
  3. ↑ a b Josef Gengler, p. 451.
  4. ↑ a b Ludwig Lorenz-Liburnau, p. 32.
  5. ↑ a b Josef Gengler, p. 452.
  6. ↑ a b c Josef Gengler, p. 453.
  7. ↑ Gebhardt Ludwig: Die Ornithologen Mitteleuropas. Aula-Verlag, Wiebelsheim 2006, ISBN 3-89104-680-4 , p. 358.
  8. ↑ a b c Josef Gengler, p. 459.
  9. ↑ Gerhard Aubrecht: The Azores Bullfinch - Pyrrhula murina Godman, 1866 - The history of a bird species: persecuted - missing - rediscovered - protected (?) (Including a list of all known specimens and syntypes). In: Annals of the Natural History Museum in Vienna. 102 B, 2000, pp. 33-41 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).
  10. ↑ Gerth von Rokitansky, p. 11.
  11. ^ Rudolf von Tschusi: Ornithological from Vorarlberg. In: Ornithological Yearbook. Volume 9, No. 2, 1898, pp. 60-65 ( online at biodiversitylibrary.org, accessed May 8, 2018 ).
  12. ↑ List of stumbling blocks in Hallein # Hallein
  13. ↑ Tschusi (1889): Ornithological information from the past and this year, p. 291.
  14. ↑ a b Josef Gengler, p. 454.
  15. ↑ a b Josef Gengler, p. 455.
  16. ↑ Josef Gengler, p. 456.
  17. ^ Report of the Württemberg Natural History Collection in Stuttgart. 1928–1929, p. XVII ( http://www.naturkundemuseum-bw.de/sites/default/files/anhaenge/jahresberichte_smns_1928-1929.pdf [accessed on March 9, 2018]).
  18. ↑ Tschusi: The Institute for Ornithology and Bird Protection in Salzburg. In: Salzburger Volksblatt February 21, 1919, pp. 4–5 ( http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=svb&date=19190221&seite=4&zoom=33 , [accessed on March 9, 2018] ).
  19. ↑ a b Josef Gengler, p. 457.
  20. ↑ a b Josef Gengler, p. 458.
  21. ↑ ( https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search.php?q=Hallein%2C+Tschusistra%C3%9Fe&polygon_geojson=1&viewbox=12.95940%2C47.74002%2C13.21175%2C47.62445 , [accessed on March 13th 2018]).
  22. ↑ Otmar Reiser, p. 122.
  23. ^ Carlo Ettore Arrigoni degli Oddi, p. 104.
  24. ↑ a b Otto Kleinschmidt, p. 103.
  25. ↑ Otto Kleinschmidt, p. 104.
personal data
SURNAME Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen, Victor von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen, Victor Ritter von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian ornithologist
DATE OF BIRTH December 28, 1847
PLACE OF BIRTH at Smíchov
DATE OF DEATH March 5, 1924
Place of death Tännenhof near Hallein